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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27098056">One Fear</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/lori_yuy/pseuds/lori_yuy'>lori_yuy</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020), Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Backstory, Childhood, Childhood Trauma, Facing fear, Fear, Geese, Ghosts, Horror, M/M, Other, Spirits, Temple, Trauma, strange powers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-09 04:07:46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,394</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27098056</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/lori_yuy/pseuds/lori_yuy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The Turks discover that their boss has one fear on a trip in Wutai.  They have never seen Tseng break till that day.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Elena &amp; Reno (Compilation of FFVII), Reno &amp; Rude (Compilation of FFVII), Rufus Shinra/Tseng</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>One Fear</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Events happen after Advent Children.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Reno leaned on the bamboo flooring nonchalantly staring into the undulating waters below.  The waves crashing against the temple foundation built atop the artificial pond rushed towards the other shore in an endless pattern that made one feel like one was moving through the water.  He took in the scenery appreciatively. Stones shaped like miniature mountains were set into the water - 'scenic stones' as Tseng called them. The water lapped against the scenic stones as colorful koi fish darted in between the structure and the bridges build over the water. He felt a heavy hand land on his shoulder as he was dropping the last of the fish feed into the pond.</p><p>"Hey partner."</p><p>The large silent Turk tipped his sunglasses in greeting. "Still taking in the scenes?"</p><p>"Yeah. The chief never told me he grew up in such a nice place."</p><p>"Hm." Rude shrugged. "The President and Tseng are done making dinner."</p><p>"Where's the rookie?"</p><p>"Lost...somewhere on the temple grounds. Chief sent me to get you and her to go eat."</p><p>The rest of the temple was a maze, with long outdoor corridors, some of which led to nowhere, while others looped you to other parts of the place like one big maze with portals.  It was no surprise that Elena was lost. She had trouble with directions on her best days. Reno got up and took one last look at the pond with the sun low in the sky ready to set.</p><p>"Well, we better find her before it gets dark."</p><p> </p><p>~...~</p><p> </p><p>It was sun down when they found Elena, huddled near a corner in one of the courtyards being almost unnoticeable in the dark.</p><p>" 'Leyna what are you doing there?"</p><p>"AAAAHHH ... Senpai? Ggggggghosts. I-I th-think there are ghosts in this place." The youngest Turk sputtered out after recognizing the duo.  She clung to Reno's arm tightly and held on for dear life. Reno shot Rude a look. Rude's mouth was flat-lined but the look on his face said he had no idea what Elena was talking about.  Elena seemed to believe in what she had said however. She was so shaken that it was hard to get her to walk at first, but finally Reno managed to half-pull half-tug her out of the courtyard back to where the main quarters of the temple were.  The main area was lit up with traditional lanterns and they could see the shadows of Rufus and Tseng from the paper screen doors just inside the main temple living quarters.</p><p>Elena seemed to have gained some of her wits back by then and she marched up into it with a determined face.</p><p>Tseng looked up as the sliding doors opened to reveal his Turks.</p><p>"What happened to you lot? Does it really take that long to get back here?" Tseng's voice was tinged with annoyance.</p><p>"Calm down Tseng, I'm sure they had their reasons." Rufus said as he patted the seats next to him. "Come eat before the food gets colder. I'm sure that's not helping his mood."</p><p>Rufus eyed Tseng quietly as Tseng sighed and resigned to sitting down for dinner. The Director's temper has been on the short end all day and Rufus has some ideas as to why.  They had come visit Tseng's childhood home at all their urging, but it must be hard emotionally for Tseng to see it again.  The grand temple, once a bustling and gathering center of the city, has been abandoned since long ago but kept its serene settings.  They had all been excited to see it but Rufus noticed Tseng getting irritated more and more as they got to the place. Rufus wasn't sure if he could remedy Tseng's antsiness.</p><p>Tseng closed his eyes and thanked the gods for the food in front of them. The scent of the entire place sent him waves of nostalgia.  Repressed memories flooded his mind. Parents, siblings, friends, mentors, teachers, and nameless citizens - all of them used to flood into this place daily to pray to and get blessings from his older sister, the grand priestess, until....</p><p> </p><p>"Hey Chief...." Reno's voice broke his train of thought and he looked up at the red head.  They were all looking at him like he was some kind of freak, then realized that he had not eaten his food.  Tseng picked up his utensil and stuffed a spoonful of food into his mouth.</p><p>"Chief...." Reno started again. "Elena thinks there's ghosts."</p><p>Tseng swallowed his food before speaking. "Oh? I wouldn't be surprised if there are, this is a temple afterall. What did they look like Elena?"</p><p>"Sparkly, yellow, and disappears and then re-appears in droves." Elena elaborated while waving her arms around wildly.</p><p>Tseng chewed on his next bite of food slowly while turning the image through his head. "Elena, are you sure you're not talking about the fireflies?"</p><p>".....what are fireflies?" Elena blurted out along with Rufus.</p><p>Tseng put his food down. He had to remember that neither of them have probably seen one before given the lack of natural life around Midgar.</p><p>"Fireflies are insects. They create a spark using chemicals in their abdomen that lasts temporarily, therefore the on and off effect. I can show you after dinner.  As for ghosts...the only ghosts I've ever seen were humanoid in form, so if you didn't see that then it's probably not a ghost." Tseng stated matter of factly.</p><p>They blinked at him like he was insane.</p><p>"You're not afraid of ghosts Chief?" Elena asked after a good minute passed.</p><p>"No."</p><p>"Wait...you've seen REAL ghosts before?"</p><p>"Are there fake ghosts?"</p><p>Elena swallowed hard. This was not the conversation she was hoping to have with her superior today.  "What....what do you do when you see real ghosts?"</p><p>"If they're neutral, you leave them alone. If they're malignant, you cleanse them."</p><p>Rufus raised an eyebrow. For someone so normally level-headed and mundane, this was a whole lot of interesting dialog coming out of his head Turk.  "And how do you 'cleanse' the malignant ghosts Tseng?"</p><p>The stoic Turk pointed at a corner of the room where a string of bells hung, along with a large brush, ink, and some papers.  "Usually the grand priestess took care of cleansing spirits." He said no more than that, but showed Rufus and Elena fireflies after dinner like he promised.</p><p> </p><p>~...~</p><p> </p><p>"Tseng....will you tell me now? About your past?" Rufus whispered in the dark.</p><p>Even breathing was next to him, Tseng's...before he heard a small sigh.</p><p>"I suppose it's time I told you."  Rufus strained his ears intently.  "I was born to this temple, the younger of two siblings. In tradition, the female descendants of the temple are blessed and given the powers of the priestess so that duty fell to my older sister when she became of age. I admired her and was a little jealous." Rufus placed a hand on Tseng's chest in the dark, feeling his heartbeat speed up under his palm.  "Then one day, an accident happened and she drowned. My parents attempted to try to get me to become the high priestess after that but the emperor's family was against a male heir taking the role. My parents still secretly trained me.  Shinra came along that same year into Wutai. This was still way before the Wutai war and Shinra's Turks...Director Veld namely, came to this city to scout out sites for a mako reactor. There was a string of unfortunate accidents and misunderstandings between Veld's field team and the locals. The emperor found out at the same time that my parents tried to use me as a high priestess and blamed my family for the ill blessings to his city. The emperor ordered the execution of my entire family. Veld took me back to Midgar after he barely saved me on time. My parents were murdered."</p><p>"I'm sorry."</p><p>"Don't...I'm over it and I should be thanking Shinra for giving me a path in life - it would have ended much earlier if not for Director Veld."  Rufus traced the lips that were parting with sad words in the dark. "But now I have you Rufus, and that would never have happened if I had stayed here ...and probably died."</p><p>Rufus placed a finger gently over Tseng's lips. "No more. You don't need to talk more about it."</p><p> </p><p>"...my sister drowned in the very garden pond in this temple." Tseng whispered into the dark after a few minutes of silence. Rufus could hear the fear tinged in his voice.</p><p>"Did you see her ghost?" Rufus asked gently.</p><p>"No...I've never seen her spirit lurk around but I...." Tseng swallowed hard.</p><p>"Shhh it's okay. I'm here for you."</p><p> </p><p>~...~</p><p> </p><p>Elena seemed to be in much better spirits the following morning, having seen fireflies and knowing they weren't ghosts. </p><p>Breakfast was being served when they heard honking from the sky. Tseng froze in place at the sound.</p><p>Reno pulled open the sliding panel door and saw a flock of geese fly towards the general direction of the pond that he was at the day before.</p><p>"No."</p><p>The three junior Turks turned their head at their boss's voice.  Rufus looked up from studying a scroll at Tseng's ashen pale face and furrowed his brows.</p><p>Tseng's eyes were dilated as his eyes followed the path of the geese. Reno and Rude quickly exchanged a look with each other.  They've known Tseng for a long time now and have never seen such fear shown in his eyes like this. Over a flock of geese?</p><p> </p><p>The image was clear in his mind. He was just a toddler, enjoying his day in the courtyards and gardens of the temple.  The next image was traumatically burned into his young mind. An attack, not from anyone in particular. An angered male goose, with its long neck lowered and was charging towards him. He ran past that one, but when he turned his head, the entire flock was behind him baring down upon him. He screamed and lost his footing and fell into the waters below. The pond was not that deep but for a 3 year old, it was enough to do the damage. He fluttered and sputtered in the water as the largest koi started to come nibble at his little feet.  He was thrown onto the deck above all of a sudden and saw his sister in the water smiling at him....before the entire flock descended upon her in anger.  He remembered himself screaming and running away. The next time he returned with his parents, his sister was nowhere to be seen. There were remnants of goose feather dotting the top of the water in the pond.</p><p>Rufus rubbed a hand on Tseng's back as he was hyperventilating. "Tseng, snap out of it!"</p><p>Tseng shook his head violently squeezing his eyes shut.</p><p>To destroy trauma, one must face it directly. That was what Rufus's therapist had told him once.  Rufus pointed towards the direction of the geese. "Reno, Rude, get Tseng over there....to the pond."</p><p>He screamed and kicked as his subordinates struggled to drag him towards the pond. Reno and Rude were having one hell of a time.  They've NEVER encountered Tseng being a brat or throwing a temper tantrum until now. What has gotten into him?</p><p>Elena was mumbling something about ghosts and evil spirits the entire way behind them. Rufus followed not far.  They sat Tseng down at the edge of the deck by the waters. The flock of geese had settled into the pond in front of them.</p><p>Rufus eyed the creatures dipping their heads into the water, seemingly trying to catch food.  A single red flower floating in the water caught his eye. "Tseng, what kind of flower is that?"</p><p>Tseng still had his eyes shut and was still hyperventilating. "no no no no no."</p><p>"TSENG." Rufus's commanding voice brought him back a little and he opened his eyes only to shut them again when he saw the geese in the water.</p><p>A screech from Elena made him open them once more. "A woman A WOMAN!!" She screamed.</p><p>Tseng's eyes widened in disbelief. Floating on top of the single water lily was the spirit of his dead sister.</p><p>/ <em>clean it baby bro.... cleanse this place</em> / a ghostly voice echoed in the air.</p><p>"I can't! I'm not the high priestess, I can't be!" He screamed back with tears in his eyes.</p><p>/<em> our family's blood runs through you.</em> /</p><p>Tseng breathed heavily, trying to calm his own panic.</p><p>/ <em>please.</em> /</p><p>He felt a warmth encircle him as the ghost of his sister embraced him.</p><p>The geese that had their head down in the water up until now suddenly turned their heads up. Their eyes were glowing red.</p><p>Reno, Rude, Elena, and Rufus all gasped in horror at the sight.</p><p>/<em> the neighboring city sent this...many years ago. we as the protector family of this city must cleanse it.</em> /</p><p>The chants that his parents worked so hard to teach him slowly began to return to his mind. He slowly said each line, still feeling the warmth that was his sister's spirit surround him.  Rufus and the Turks watched Tseng with intrigue. With each word, a new water lily bloom popped into existence in the water.  The flock of geese swam wildly in the pond.</p><p>/ <em>here.</em> / The sound of a bell rang throughout the garden. The geese took flight then in a whirl of wind and flew off towards the sun.</p><p>His chants stopped and he panted hard. Spiritual work was hard on the body. The pond full of flowers shrank back into one single flower.</p><p>"Did I....did I do that?" He asked nobody in particular.</p><p>Rufus came up behind him and hugged him tightly. "You did."</p><p>The ghost of his sister seemed to smile. / <em>you're all grown up and have found love...</em> / with that, she disappeared with the flower in a stream of green...the Lifestream.  His sister finally returned to the Lifestream.</p><p> </p><p>~...~</p><p> </p><p>"Did you know that Tseng is afraid of geese?"</p><p>He groaned. Reno was around passing that info along at every party they attended again.  Rufus chuckled and placed a hand on his back, guiding him to a hallway outside of the main event and pulled him into a kiss.  He didn't fear the geese anymore..even if Reno still thought so.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I don't even know what prompted this but enjoy! This was supposed to be a crackfic...but it somehow turned into horror??</p><p>I'll give Tseng some credit though...a flock of possessed murderous geese is pretty scary.</p><p>Reno will never let Tseng live down being afraid of and having a breakdown over geese.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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